Weapons (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)
Weapons, primarily firearms and explosives, are used in combat by XCOM soldiers and most aliens in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, as well as EXALT's paramilitary agents in XCOM: Enemy Within. Soldiers equip weapons based on their class, which can be seen in the Barracks or while selecting a squad for a mission. Alien species always make use of the same weapon(s) with the exception of the Muton (see Alien Weaponry below). While weapons can be captured from aliens which have been stunned by the Arc Thrower or had the difficulty turned down to a point where their health value becomes 0, they cannot be used until the associated research project has been completed. Newly researched weapons become available for production in Engineering whereas conventional weapons (available by default) are already stocked in unlimited quantities. Weapon Types Soldiers carry a primary weapon, secondary weapon, and an item (two with Tactical Rigging in XCOM: Enemy Within). Primary weapons are a soldier's main source of firepower in combat; they include rifles, sniper rifles, shotguns, and LMGs. Secondary weapons vary; they include pistols, rocket launchers, and a wide range of tactical subsystems available to MEC Troopers that are installed directly to a MEC . A soldier's item slot can hold a variety of grenades, a S.C.O.P.E. to improve equipped weapons, or an Arc Thrower to capture live aliens, among other useful equipment. Technology Level On occasion a class ability (such as the Sniper's Headshot or a Heavy's Mayhem) is related to the weapon's technology level. These are, in order: *Level 1: Conventional weapons *Level 2: Beam weapons and Railgun *Level 3: Plasma weapons, Alloy Cannon, and Particle Cannon XCOM Weaponry The following is a list of weapons available to XCOM forces in XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within. 'Pistols' Usable by Rookie-ranked soldiers, as well as the Assault, Sniper and Support classes. Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within Notes: *Critical Chance is increased by 20% with Improved Pistol I. *A +10 Aim bonus is gained with Improved Pistol II. *Damage is increased by 1 with Improved Pistol III. *Pistols do not require reloading during combat. 'Rifles' Usable by Rookie-ranked soldiers, as well as the Assault and Support classes. Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within Notes: *Light Plasma Rifle has a +10 Aim bonus. 'Sniper Rifles' Usable by Sniper class soldiers only. Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within Notes: *Unlike other weapons, the accuracy of a sniper rifle decreases the closer the target is. *Sniper rifles have the highest critical hit chance available to XCOM. *A sniper rifle cannot be fired after the soldier wielding it moves unless the soldier has received special training. 'Shotguns' Usable by Assault class soldiers only. Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within Notes: *Shotguns have the smallest effective range of all primary weapon types, being subjected to an Aim penalty over long distances. In contrast, the Aim bonus at close range is doubled. *Shotguns have the second highest critical hit chance available to XCOM. 'Light Machine Guns' Usable by Heavy class soldiers only. Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within Notes: *Heavy weapons have the second lowest ammo capacity in the game, permitting only three shots per reload. The Ammo Conservation Foundry upgrade allows three additional shots per reload. *LMGs have the lowest critical hit chance of all primary weapon types. *LMGs have the highest terrain damage of all primary weapon types. 'Rocket Launchers' Usable by Heavy class soldiers only. Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within Notes: *Default limit of one ammo. *Ammo count, damage area and special effects can be changed or added via abilities. 'MEC Primary Weapons' Usable by MEC Troopers only. Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within Notes: *MEC weapons have the lowest ammo capacity in the game, permitting only two shots per reload. The Ammo Conservation Foundry upgrade allows two additional shots, and the Expanded Storage ability one. These stack for a potential five shots per reload. *MEC weapons can target and destroy terrain with the Collateral Damage ability. 'MEC Tactical Subsystems' Tactical subsystems are secondary systems integrated into a MEC, to be used by a MEC Trooper along with their primary weapon. Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within Notes: *Electro Pulse stuns Robotic enemies for one turn in addition to inflicting damage. *Jellied Elerium upgrades the Flamethrower to 9 damage. *The Alien Grenades Foundry project increases the Grenade Launcher's damage to 5. *The Kinetic Strike Module can be increased to 18 base damage and can be used twice per turn with the MEC Close Combat Foundry upgrade. **With the Absolutely Critical Second Wave option enabled attacks with the Kinetic Strike Module guarantees a critical hit every time; the punch does 18 damage or 27 damage when upgraded. *The Expanded Storage ability allows an additional use of the Grenade Launcher, Proximity Mine Launcher, and Restorative Mist. Other Tactical Subsystems: *Restorative Mist heals 4 HP to all units in a 2-tile radius. Improved Medikit increases the healing to 6 HP and Expanded Storage allows an additional use. 'Grenades' Usable by Rookie-ranked soldiers and every class except MEC Troopers, through the use of an item slot. (MEC Troopers have a Grenade Launcher tactical subsystem instead.) Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within Notes: *Needle Grenades have a large blast radius, but the projectiles do not pass through cover. *Gas Grenades poison all units in the blast radius: -20 Aim penalty and -1 HP per turn for 3 turns. *Flashbang Grenades inflict a -50 Aim and -50% Movement penalty for 2 turns. No friendly fire. Other Grenades: *A Ghost Grenade can be used on friendly units for an effect similar to Ghost Armor. *The Support class can use Smoke Grenades to boost allied units' Defense. 'Weapon Comparison Chart' The following weapons are available to XCOM personnel: Alien Weaponry Plasma A number of alien species are equipped with plasma-based weaponry equivalent to XCOM's: Notes: *Mutons use Light Plasma Rifles when first encountered (in May) before switching to Plasma Rifles for the remainder of the game. This change occurs in June on Classic/Impossible difficulty, or in July on Easy/Normal difficulty. *Cyberdiscs, Heavy Floaters, and Muton Elites can throw grenades farther due to their Bombard ability. In addition, many aliens employ specialized weapons or offensive capabilities that are unavailable to XCOM and unique to their species: Ranged Melee EXALT Weaponry EXALT initially uses conventional weapons before upgrading to beam weapons. Name and outward appearance aside, their weapons are identical in stats and function to XCOM's weapons. Encountered EXALT armaments can be on par with up to XCOM's laser weaponry. As they don't possess Plasma-based gear, a sufficiently-upgraded team can easily outgun them in combat. Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within Range Bonuses and Penalties Weapons are subject to Aim bonuses and/or penalties, based on the weapon type and distance from the target. ;Range Bonuses ;Range Penalties Weapons are zeroed (no Aim bonus or penalty) at a range of 10 tiles. The Aim bonuses and penalties above are based on straight-line distances and cardinal unit positioning. Angled positioning with a Shotgun or Sniper Rifle can result in an Aim bonus/penalty corresponding to values within ±1 tile of the straight-line distance (calculated using Pythagorean theorem). Bugs *Critical hit damage may vary from what is listed in a weapon's Tactical Info due to a calculation bug. They may inflict one point less than the indicated minimum, and/or be limited to one point less than the indicated maximum. Trivia *EXALT does not utilize shotgun type weapons, nor do they use pistols. Their gear also caps at laser-based weaponry in terms of advancement, therefore no plasma-based EXALT armaments can be seen on the field. *Aliens do not utilize neither shotgun type weapons, nor sniper rifle type weapons, although they have some more unique weaponry. See Also * Aircraft Armaments - Weaponry that can be outfitted on Interceptors. * S.H.I.V., Alloy S.H.I.V., Hover S.H.I.V. - XCOM's heavy weapon platforms. References Category:Weapons (XCOM: Enemy Unknown) Category:Weapons Category:Technology